19/06/2022
The current online Daʿwah scene is extremely disheartening, sad, and disappointing. There is a culture of hyper-unwarranted criticism, refutation, calling out, drama, ridicule, attack, and questioning of intentions. It's ugly and goes completely against some of the most fundamental teachings of Islam. This culture that has been created and is being propagated is completely against the ethos of Islam and the ideals of brotherhood, sisterhood, and unity.
I would like to remind myself and every one of the following words of our beloved Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ said, "You will not enter Paradise until you [truly] believe, and you will not [truly] believe until you love one another. Shall I not guide you towards something, if you do it, you love each other? Spread salām (safety, security, protection, peace) amongst each other." (Muslim)
Everyone in the field of daʿwah wants to get to Paradise and help others do so as well. How are we going to get there if our time and energy is spent attacking others and refuting them? How can we claim to be doing daʿwah and working to spread the message of Islam when our behavior, speech, and attitude are antithetical to the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ?
Why are we so concerned about what others are doing? Focus on our own efforts; teach, educate, propagate, and help our community strengthen their īmān. As long as a person's efforts are rooted in sound knowledge and they are consulting with legitimate recognized scholarship, we should put our differences aside. We have to learn and implement adab al-ikhtilāf, the ethics of disagreement. Just because I disagree with someone's methodology does not give me the right to attack them, question their intentions, call them a sell-out, and make an hour-long refutation video regarding them
May Allah ﷻ cleanse our hearts and rectify our affairs.
